Thanks to everyone for your thoughtful responses. My previous boat (a PSC) had a removable inner forestay which I rigged for offshore sailing only. Used, and loved, it for heavy weather not upwind

Thanks Eric, for the extra information. With the masts coming off this week, I will do the stays _except_ the forestay, which I am happy to defer* until Martinique, and then do that and the service on

My SM2K came with a trinquette (Staysail). The installation from the previous owner was well made: http://www.nikimat.com/staysail.html The attach point was going through the deck to the hull

Paul, I will give you five things that I have learned that may help you. 1) Most of the staysails added to SMs happen early in ownership...after owning. a SM for a year or so, it is rarely added. You

Paul, That... seems unlikely. My boat’s best VMG under normal conditions comes when she points at about 37 deg AWA, and 50 deg TWA with a standard Genoa. A claim of 31 deg AWA with a

Whether you can oint higher to the wind will depend largely on where the sail is sheeted. If you have a track inboard of the standing rigging then it is possible that you can point higher. If in the

Hi Paul I got a second rig behind my fore sail. I use it with a staysail or a storm sail in strong winds. I can easy remove the rig in normal weather. This way I don't need to roll in the Genoa

Jeff and Peter, I know what you mean about the tester lever on the float trigger, I have seen one on an SM2K. Very useful. Unfortunately there isn't one on the equipment used on our boat. However I

An Amel-owner told me that using the "Trinkette", or staysail, on a SM gains 5-6 degrees of upwind performance. Can anyone verify this claim? Paul C. still looking

Jeff, Where is the test lever for bilge alarm? Peter Forbes Carango Bermuda

I think the positioning of my bilge alarm is good. I checked mine recently by removing and tipping upside down and found malfunction due to corroded wiring which I corrected and now all OK. I agree

Hi Jeff, the comments were on this forum a few months ago, probably directed at wind generators in general but he had a D 400 he would have been pleased to dispose of. I did wonder if there was

Sorry wrong subject David, I had the genoa furler serviced by Amel in Martinique in November. The gears were fine however they replaced 5 bearings and 9 seals or the other way around. They

David, I had the genoa furler serviced by Amel in Martinique in November. The gears were fine however they replaced 5 bearings and 9 seals or the other way around. They also replaced the electrical

Hi Jeff, Weight: Superwind 11.5 kg D 400 17 kg or 33% heavier. At the top of a mast that is significant. Output. Superwind is rated for 350 watts and the D400 400 watts. I have been happy with the

Hi all, Today's maintenance task was testing the bilge alarm. We had heard recently of at least one 54 owner who found out the hard way it didn't work. So it was high on the list and, sure enough, the